What does the brackets look like?

Jerry Palm, CBSSports.com, Chief Bracketologist. I have his phone number. What a mistake he made all those years ago.

Let's get right to it. North Carolina, still in your first four out. I would think by now they would be in like the eighth four out. Yeah, the problem is all of the teams at that part of the bracket keep losing.

That's why they're there. They lose more than they win. They don't get the kinds of wins to give them the juice to move up the bracket.

So there's a lot of treading water in that part of the bracket. However, and you knew there was going to be a however, I'm looking at Penn State in the field, and I'm at a loss for why they are in the field, even over North Carolina, who I will admit outwardly has proven that they cannot beat really good teams. Although, I don't know that some of the teams they have beaten shouldn't be maybe thought of a little higher, except that this is what the net has given us. Penn State's loss to Clemson. Penn State's loss to Wake Forest.

I just, I don't get, I believe I have those right, that they have lost to those two. No, Clemson and Virginia Tech. Clemson and Virginia Tech, two teams that have a lot of work to do, theoretically. Virginia Tech has all of the work to do. Clemson maybe doesn't have to win the ACC tournament to make the NCAA tournament field, but maybe they do. So those two losses, those would be considered bad losses. North Carolina's, I don't know.

I mean, but my point is, Penn State's credentials aren't any better than North Carolina, except they live in a better neighborhood, according to, they live behind the gated community, and the ACC men were still out here in the country. How many chances at quad one wins has North Carolina had? Not many. Ten. Yeah.

Okay. They were one in nine. Penn State's had 11. And they're five and six.

Yes, but you and I have already talked about this. Those are not all created equal. They are, but anything's more equal than one. You know, they won at Illinois. They won at Northwestern.

Those are teams in the field. They beat Maryland. They're going to be in the field. They beat Indiana. They're going to be in the field. They beat Illinois, actually Swept, Illinois, annihilated them in Champaign. They beat Iowa. They beat Smith. Certainly a team they're competing with for the field. I mean, that's a lot of teams that may or may not be in the field, and Carolina's got one.

One. Well, no, that's not true because they didn't stay at home too. You know, but that's. Right, but that's not a quad one win. That's my larger point is that the quads are crazy. Well, and that's what I talk about. Not all. It's a win over a team in the field, but it's again at home.

So I don't know. I don't know why you pick on Penn State. I mean, I just did the first team I saw Wisconsin's in the field a lot too, and Wisconsin just isn't all that. Although I think you have Wisconsin in your first four out. I watched Wisconsin last night, and I just I prayed.

I mean, we can't find what he did, but right. Well, look, it's almost it's almost beating my head against the wall to argue in favor of North Carolina because to be to be fair and to be honest, they haven't won many of these games. I would argue that they were right there and they could have easily, but there's something obviously that is preventing them from getting across the finish line first. They do, but look, there's a lot of talent across the country without getting into the weeds about UNC and their talent. I think they have two very good college, but one great college player in Armando Baycott. RJ Davis is a very good college player. Leaky Black is becoming a very good player. Caleb Love.

It all depends on the day. If you get really good Caleb Love, then he's a dynamic player. Other than that, I mean, there are thousands of Caleb Loves around college basketball. I mean, he is guys who who are really good at taking bad shots and missing them. I mean, I, I, I watch my son's middle school team and see it all the time.

Jerry Palm is joining us here. I want to talk about the Blue Devils, who swept North Carolina. And honestly, were it not for the debacle at video at Virginia, they go into the ACC tournament on what would it be like a 9, 10 game winning streak. They have really played good basketball. I don't know how good they are.

Where do you ultimately have them on your seed board? I think I've got them as a five or a six. Five would be a five. You're just asking for a 12 to beat a five, aren't you? Yeah, I've got them as a five. Actually, 19th overall.

19th overall. Look, you earn it by what you do, right? There's no, you can't get around that. But they have, they have real vulnerabilities. Well, you know what? I look at all the one seed and I see vulnerabilities. That's the way this tournament is going to be. I mean, it's always about matchups, especially when you get further down the bracket. But most of the year, most years, you can look at the two or three of the top seeds and you think that team is going to the Elite Eight and nothing is happening to stop that.

Right. And then then we'll see what happens when we get there. But the talent is too much. They're going to get to the Elite Eight. And you look at the one seed this year. I mean, these are good teams, don't get me wrong, but they all have matchup problems that they could see earlier in the tournament. And we could get to the Elite Eight and maybe not have a one seed there or maybe only one. You know, because nobody is that dominant that they can just pencil them in that deep into the tournament. Jerry Palm is joining us here on the Adam Gold Show.

Chief Bracketologist, CBSSports.com, at J.P. Palm, CBS on Twitter. Is NC State on the bubble or are they OK? They just might not like where they're seated. Yeah, I think they're OK. They just look like a middle of the bracket team. There was just no conviction there, Jerry.

Not at all. Well, I mean, I don't see I don't see how they get left out at this point. Right.

You know, but there's not a lot there's not a lot of meat in this. This is a eight, nine, 10 feet kind of team, depending on how that part of the bracket shakes out. You know, that part of the bracket, all of those teams are the same in different ways. Right.

Jerry Palm is with us here. Is there a possibility if you have Duke as a five and Virginia's a four and Miami is one, Miami's got to be a five, right? Yeah, they're in that neighborhood, too.

Yeah. If you have three ACC teams in that particular part of the bracket, is there some theory that maybe they drag a sixth team into this tournament with them? Could be a Carolina, could be a Clemson.

Maybe they get both. Yeah, I'm really not optimistic for Clemson. I'm just not. There's just there's so much negative there. But the negatives, I could see Carolina squeezing in the two bad losses giving up on Carolina. I just, you know, we appreciate your face every time you think they have a chance to give it away.

Oh, boy, they were right there. But here's the thing. Here's the thing for Carolina. The first team they're going to get that can help them is Virginia. So they've got to win once just to get to a game that can help them. Right.

OK. But and the thing about Carolina is they've avoided the losing to Boston colleges. You know, they you know, the losses aren't bad.

They're just numerous. But the you know, so they take care of business there. Then they get a shot at Virginia. You buy Virginia again. And now it's a neutral court game.

Now you've got something to talk about. I mean, they don't need a lot. OK, so the next game is Clemson and Clemson definitely would need that more than North Carolina does. And what I don't what I would be hard pressed to really get is why two quad one wins out of 10 or 12 or 13 chances wouldn't be right.

No, no, no. But I'm talking Virginia. But a win over Virginia would give them a second quad one win. How two and nine or two and 10 is somehow better than one in nine is two and 10 really better than one in nine. I mean, I know theoretically it is, but they're both they both still look bad. However.

Yeah, they do. And Illinois is, by the way, two and nine or something like that. So let's get them out of the field to Jerry. But but Illinois two wins are away from home against top five teams. Right. And they're still in the top five.

Well, I don't know about the polls, but in my mind, you know, UCLA and Texas. Right. OK. Yeah. So it's so for a non-conference wins like that, that matters.

And that's really what I get to know. They could have beaten Purdue twice in the league. And that's two top five wins, too. You know, that's that's you know, that's not really the point that they were non-conference. The point is, it's too high quality wins and both away from home, except that I do think it's different.

I don't know. Maybe it's just a basketball watcher in me. I think it's easier to win in the league against great teams than it is to win out of the league against great teams.

I'd probably go opposite on that. But just the familiarity and the history, I just think it naturally brings teams closer together in terms of the game. Yeah, they know each other better.

So it's easier for both teams to scout. So anyways, Clemson, two quad three losses, two quad four losses. But the quad three losses and or the quad four losses happen without one of their best players. Does that matter?

Yes. Yeah, it does matter. Then why don't we just forget about those losses?

You can't. They happen. But but if we say if it matters, the committee does not. It does matter.

I'm sorry that I misspoke. It does matter. Those losses matter. They count. No, no, I understand the losses matter. But if it but if you're if you do that without your best player. Why should it? The committee will not pretend it didn't happen and they will not pretend that the game wasn't played.

You know, they won't ignore it. There's context given to it. I cannot name a single team in 30 years that got selected because of consideration for an injury. Seating? Yes. Not selection.

Not once. You have to earn your way in. And Clemson has not earned their way in. And part of it is, you know, these really bad losses. So, you know, and we'll see what they do in the conference tournament. But they're going to have to play those losses out of the mind of the committee.

And the best player wasn't there isn't going to do the job. They're just going to have to play them out at J.P. Palm CBS on Twitter. Jerry Palm, chief bracketologist. I appreciate your your time, my friend. I will see you hopefully sometime down the road. Maybe at a Final Four near you. That would be great. I agree. That would be great.

We would need a local team to go. Yeah, there's that. I'm looking at you, NC State. Best chance, I think, out of the three. In my opinion.

Because if the guards can get. Step their game up. Turquavian Smith. Right. Casey Morsell.

Jarkel Joiner. I think this team can go places. We'll find out. It'll be fun.